Risen, Sent, and Ascended

Mark 16:1-20 

He Is Risen

1 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. 2 Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. 3 And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?" 4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away—for it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.

6 But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. 7 But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."

8 So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

9 Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.

Jesus Appears to Two Disciples

12 After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country. 13 And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.

The Great Commission

14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

Christ Ascends to God's Right Hand

19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.

Jesus is risen indeed!  We are sent with that good news of a life changing message of hope for condemned men and women.  He was resurrected from death to life and ascended back into heaven where He descended into the lower parts of His creation, earth, to live to tell us these things, suffer, die, and rise again that we might all know the certainty of the hope set before us of life from death (John 5:24) and an eternity with Him to anticipate born out of God’s goodness of forever forgiveness in Christ and His work of a substitutionary atoning death.  What good news!  What an incredible answer to the hopelessness of condemned sinners which we all are from our birth because we have inherited our sin nature from Adam (Romans 5:12, 1 Corinthians 15:20-22) and our sin is perpetuated by our corrupted nature ever since!  He is risen indeed, and we can trust His word and work (John 6:29) to receive Jesus (John 1:12) as our Messiah the Christ and be adopted as His chosen children, of which adoption cannot be undone, lost, or given back afterwards.  What security in Jesus we now possess!  Unlike the first disciples, we can read this historical account and believe when we hear the good news that is the gospel of hope and not doubt the veracity of this message told to us by others who have seen the risen Lord and have been likewise changed within Him.  Jesus had strongly rebuked those who doubted the gospel account of the ones who saw Him and we do better to take their accounts as true because His word tells us these things as it did then for those journeying to Emmaus (Luke 24:25-27) from Moses (John 5:46) and all the prophets (John 1:45, 5:39, Romans 1:3-4, 2 Timothy 3:16-17) of the Old Testament and now the continued accounts from the New Testament which explain these things about Him even more!  All then who hear and taken God at His word will be delivered (saved) from the wrath of God which all we condemned prisoners to sin do rightly deserve.  Since this is so, we who hear and have been set free cannot help but tell others as we go through life from death.  We are sent out with this good news of true hope and freedom which no man’s philosophy, good works, religion, or reasoning can ever provide or promise.  We have the words of life (John 6:68-69, Acts 5:20); where else can any of us go for hope and living?  This promise has been proven by Jesus ascending back where He came down from (Ephesians 4:9-10), as evidentiary proof of our own resurrection from death to new life with Him to come (1 Corinthians 15:20-22, 56-57).  Yes, Jesus the Christ who is Lord of all has the power to save and send us and raise us up from the grave with Him because He is the sovereign Lord God seated at the right hand of power (Mark 14:62, 16:19, Ephesians 1:20-21) who stepped down from heaven to bring those who hear and heed to return with him there with an absolute certainty of hope because we turned from our sin to believe and receive Him according to His good word of this gospel.  He is risen.  We are sent.  He ascended.  He now sends us with this message to bear witness to His work for His chosen children that others may join us with Him there.  What a wonderful message we have been entrusted with!  This is the certain hope we have and offer.